Matt Wells, a researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch, works on Côte d'Ivoire and Chinese labor practices in Zambia. He was previously a fellow for Human Rights Watch, covering forced child begging in Senegal and rampant criminality and lawlessness in western Côte d'Ivoire. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Wells worked at the Harvard Law School Human Rights Clinic on research and advocacy projects related to child mining in Sierra Leone's diamond industry and the right to education in Liberia. He has a bachelor's degree in history from Rice University and a law degree from Harvard. He speaks French.